Here I abbreviate my Facebook friend Katie’s (pseudonym) posting:

   “I saw the homeless person yesterday afternoon. I stopped to see if       they were there before I brought the tent and second sleeping bag. I told them I had a tent for them. They said ‘cool, but can I take a shower instead? I haven’t had a shower in ten months.’ I am pretty private and haven’t had anyone in my place since this started, but they yelled again at me, non-threateningly, ‘I can’t take a shower, is that what you are telling me?’

“I couldn’t think of a reason I could say no, and ten months. OMG. So, I agreed.

I gave them what they needed and a toothbrush kit that I hadn’t used, together with mouthwash so that they wouldn’t be tempted to use mine.

“They’re autistic, moody, and not always speaking coherently. I cannot emphasize how much effort and a bit of forceful ‘you are taking this tent’ I had to be. They won’t set it up, even talked of giving it to someone else. I emphasized it was for them, they can set it up just like the others under the bridge, they won’t be bothered, and they will need to be sheltered. They will not set it up until they are invited by the city to do so. Ugh.

“So difficult. Anyways, they showered and I sent them along with a fresh sketch pad and some pens and a magazine to read. They wouldn’t take a roll of toilet paper. Instead, they would use pieces of material. Sigh.

“I can only do so much. No, I won’t allow it again. It was a one-time deal. I have pushy neighbors.

“After they left I immediately Lysol wiped everything down they may have touched. I sprayed half a can of Lysol all over the place and bathroom. My balcony was wide open to air out, as well as a window in my room. Then I cleaned the whole bathroom and again wiped everything down and sprayed some more. So, it should be OK. They were not ill or coughing or anything and literally just showered and left.

“Is it common for a homeless person to go this long without a shower? Are there no options or nonprofits that provide these services?”

My first response to Katie’s post was “Wonderfully reckless.” Later I found myself repeatedly returning to her final two questions. Frequently, when I take a hot shower, I think that in this regard those of us with easy access to a hot shower live better than the kings of old. Hot running water whenever I want. But now in the shower I am haunted by the words “I haven’t had a shower in ten months.”

I wondered how shower availability stands in Amherst. If a homeless person wants a shower, what is available? With some help I made my way to a probably incomplete list of candidate resources and began checking.

Jessie’s House, Amherst Community Connections, and the Homeless Shelter at the Unitarian shelter do wonderful work but do not offer a shower to walk-ins. You can take a shower at Craig’s Place Shelter if you are one of the shelter residents. Blessings upon the Amherst Survival Center; a homeless person can get a free shower there, no strings attached, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12-3 p.m. And food too. 413-549-3968.

I had two more questions: what do some other towns do, and what other possibilities exist or could exist in Amherst.

Cambridge offers free showers to anyone. They have nine showers inside two trailers in a parking lot next to a Harvard computer lab that are open weekdays from 1-4 p.m. Other sites in Massachusetts are one in Wrentham, one in Boston, and two in Sturbridge. Connecticut has five towns with free showers and California has 66. (publicshower.directory/) shows a nationwide listing of free showers.

As to other possibilities in Amherst, there are the many showers in gyms on the UMass, Amherst campus, the showers at the high school and middle school, and the showers at the two swimming pools. I am guessing that the police building and the two fire department buildings also have showers. Admittedly, each possibility comes with its own challenges.

Now let’s dream. A free public shower in every public park, in every public library, in every public building, and in every new or remodeled restaurant, with accessibility only from outside the restaurant.

Richard S. Bogartz is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.